Posts Tagged ‘Caribou’

25. The New Pornographers – Together
The New Porns have always brought some good things to the table, but it can be difficult for me to get through a whole album. Together has made that task a bit less difficult, as it may be the best album from this band yet. It’s definitely the most group-oriented of their efforts, as the title would suggest – four lead singers span the albums songs, and the contributions from Destroyer’s Dan Bejar are some of his best to date. (more…)

Normally, I’m a pretty anti-techno guy. As someone who was weaned on 60’s thru 90’s rock, I have a very low tolerance for music pumped out of a computer. (Obviously, one could call me a judgmental listener at times.) However, I am still loyal to the theory that every genre of music out there—EVERY genre—has something good to represent it. In the case of a few genres, the good stuff may not be so abundant, but there is still always a possibility for greatness. Dan Snaith, the main man behind Caribou, has been giving electronic music a wonderful name recently. His pop sensibility and pioneering sonic innovations helped his previous album, 2007’s “Andorra”, to win the coveted Polaris Music Prize; and “Swim”, the much-anticipated follow-up, could be bound for a similar glory. (more…)

Note: The original plan was to do a list of 100, but with how whirlwind this last month has been for me, there was just no way to write about that many records. Plus, no one wants to read that much, and in that regard, even 50 is pushing it. So without further adieu, here they are.

50. Brendan Benson—The Alternative to Love (2005)

This enigmatic power-pop songsmith has consistently put out great albums since 1996, and this third in the series is no exception. Though Benson hasn’t really broken through to huge mainstream success, I would bet money you have heard at least two of his songs and don’t even realize it. (more…)

Some may notice this post is a little belated…let’s just say any week your band gets to open for KISS is automatically the most hectic week you’ve ever had in your life, times a million.

No matter–it will take some picking up of the general pace, but all the reviews WILL be written by Dec 30th, and the FINAL LIST will be posted on the 31st. So, let’s get back to it, shall we?

Spoon—Kill the MoonlightMerge, 2002

Remember how many memorable riffs Led Zeppelin II had? “Whole Lotta Love”, “The Lemon Song”, “Thank You”, “Heartbreaker”, “Ramble On”… It’s not even their best album, yet it contains a ton of the more iconic tunes of the 1970’s. Kill the Moonlight is that album for the 2000’s, and the best album so far from Spoon. (more…)